Small sunroom - is it worth it?

[Elmo22]

We moved from a big semi-detached house with lots of space to a smaller, detached house in a great area for my son. We love our house and downstairs it has a great sized living room and a kitchen big enough for a table and chairs. We love sitting in the kitchen and it has become a real family space. However, I miss having extra living space downstairs and we are now thinking of adding a small sunroom onto the kitchen. It would only be about 10ft by 8ft but it would be part of the kitchen itself (we would take away the french doors to the garden) but it would mean I could have a couch and an armchair in my kitchen. Has anyone added such a small sunroom before? Was it worth it? And do you have photos? I need guidance!

Thank you for reading! Also, just to add, the reason for the small size isn’t price - it’s just that we have a small garden so don’t want to take away too much of it.

Depends what you mean by “sunroom”. If it has a properly-insulated roof and double glazed, or if it’s more 1980’s plastic-fantastic conseevatory.
The firmer: nice if you can afford it, the latter likely to be huge waste of heating in the winter as all your heat whooshes away.

It will pretty much be an extension - proper roof and triple glazing with all associated electrics and heating. There will be a lot of glass but it is just a wee sunny room tacked on to the kitchen. Just wondering if it’s worth the £30,000 plus we have been quoted by various builders (we are in Scotland so I appreciate this might be a cheap quote for some people) just for a wee bit of extra space.

Well one thing I would say is about heating the area. We have a conservatory and on the summer it's boiling and in the winter it's freezing (so don't use it and keep the door to it shut). Have you considered the heating issue?

That's what I had built and it was worth every penny. I have a couch in there and I can see the TV in the main part of the kitchen. I love how it feel so light and part of the garden. It my favourite room. I don't know the size offhand but it sounds similar.

It sounds lovely. From what I understand, winters in Scotland can be quite harsh, so perhaps it's worth sacrificing part of your garden to get a sunroom. Also, it could be a great place to grow tomatoes and peppers - as a keen gardener with a very small glasshouse I would love to have a sunroom to use for plants. If you can afford it and think you would use it more than the part of the garden you would be sacrificing then go for it, but consider decent blinds/screens, as it might get extremely hot in summer, even in Scotland.

I had something similar in my first house, and loved it! It was a fantastic addition for parties too, especially BBQ’s because it led onto our (very small) back yard. It had a real family feel to it, and I also enjoyed having a TV I could see/listen to whilst cooking in the kitchen! I’d say if you are sure you’d get use from it, go for it.

Thanks for the replies, they are very encouraging! I think we will go for it- I love the thought of our kitchen being more of a family/ sociable space. The cost was more then I’d imagined but we don’t plan on moving from this house so it is an investment. If I can find the 3D drawings from the builder, I’ll post them.

Good call on the blinds - I’m going to check out decent blinds as we have a south facing garden so it will be a sun trap!

I think it does give you a family room rather than a dining kitchen, sounds lovely.

@Raindancer411

Well one thing I would say is about heating the area. We have a conservatory and on the summer it's boiling and in the winter it's freezing (so don't use it and keep the door to it shut). Have you considered the heating issue?

It’s not a conservatory, it’s more like an extension with lots of windows. I’ll try and post a photo. A conservatory would be lovely and cheaper but friends have said the same about the heating issues,

Oh, it sounds great! If it makes your kitchen a brilliant space to live in, and you can afford it, then I’d go for it.

I would watch a few of BBC's "your home made perfect" before deciding your final design. The architects there mostly spend their time fixing poorly thought out extensions! They can be great but that show taught me that there are factors to consider in your design! It's also a great show in general for inspo :)

I'm envious, it sounds lovely. I think a well designed sunroom will be an investment in your future happiness, and might become your favourite room in the house.

Thanks everyone for your input. I got another quote today but it wasn’t cheaper (around the same) so think we will have to accept the price situation 😮 ! We are going to go for it in the New year so it’s time to save! Il try and post photos.

Hi there, how did you get on with your sunroof extension? My hubby and I are looking at something similar, ut had a few ppl advising on different options. Did you go for the solid extension with proper roof?

Ppl are talking to us about lightweight roofs ready made, but seems to be more like a conservatory tiled roof, but it looks similar to yours so keen to hear how it went? Any advice?

How did you get on @Elmo22 ? I'm looking to get something similar done - any recommendations for builders and what size did you decide on x

Hi there, we didn’t do the sunroom in the end because of the cost (by the time we had faffed about and got more quotes, the costs had risen to mid 30s). We did end up converting our garage which was through the wall from the kitchen (we opened it up so it’s semi open-plan) so we have actually ended up with a better family space. I would still have loved the sunroom but it was just too costly. If you have the cash, I’d go for it!

We got quotes from CR Smith who were very informative and helpful but also very expensive and also from two local builders who were a good bit cheaper. We were going to end up with a 9ft by 12ft extension but we have 8.5ft by 15ft with the garage so similar size space. Good luck with your project! X

@Elmo22 We are converting our garage into a room but it comes off the hall, so will be a “kids toys” room. We are still keeping some at the back for storage of things like gardening equipment and tools. How long did yours take?

Our conversion took just over 2 weeks and that was with everything finished - external brickwork, new window, wooden flooring etc. I am delighted that we did it - it is a great space for us. Cost was round about £10,000 and that was with a local builder. We are Scotland though so I appreciate this cost will vary depending on location. Definitely get a few quotes though - they will vary!

Our conversion starts next month and emptying it has been the hardest as to where to store things! It worked out a quote of 20k so hoping it won't go too much over. Will still need to paint and carpet it 😆

Thanks Elmo! Eek mid 30k does seem steep. I had anticipated around 20k mark. Will continue looking for inspiration - I'm in a small detached with south facing garden too and really want a sunny room to sit in for the two weeks of summer we get! I'm not sure if the width of my patio sliding doors is quite grand design I have in my head though!